Page 8 of Bargain With the Boss

“Where will you be?”

“Taking the lovely Marta to a late lunch.”

That, however, was a lie. I’d broken things off with Marta three months ago when she moved back to Manhattan, but she was a handy excuse. And I was restless as hell. At least Marta had emptied my brain once a week with her bendy, creative body. I was pretty sure we’d both lost interest once the spring thaw had come to Crescent Cove.

She’d been a delightful distraction against the interminable winter. Getting snowed in with an ex-gymnast had definitely been what the doctor ordered. Now that May was giving us longer days I could actually focus on Lakeview Terrace with my free time.

Which was a good thing. A third of FHK was currently distracted with a new baby girl who’d come roaring into the world in April.

I grabbed my laptop bag, unhooking my laptop from the hub on my desk before slipping it inside along with a hard copy folder of printouts from my father. His expansion ideas would require a lot of juggling with my own projects.

I double checked my phone, finding a message from Jude.

Jude:

Can you meet at LT today?

Definitely. I was just leaving purgatory.

Jude:

Good. I’ll see you there in thirty.

Sounds good.

“Okay, hit my mobile if there are any fires you can’t handle.” I winked at Devon. “As if there’s a chance of that.”

“Buttering me up won’t work, sir.”

I rolled my eyes. “Heaven forbid. You know I can’t live without you, Devon.”

“I’m well aware.”

I laughed. “I just bet you are.” I shrugged out of my suit jacket, handing it to him as I hooked the leather case over my shoulder.

“I’ll be in by ten tomorrow.”

He smoothed the jacket over his arm to prevent wrinkles. “Very good.”

I was unbuttoning my dress shirt as I passed through the main office to the elevators. Russ Boyd, one of our junior accountants, ran to catch up with me in the elevator.

I held the door.

He snickered at my undershirt. “Thanks for the hold, Cap.”

I gave him a snappy salute and untucked my Captain America T-shirt from my dress pants. “How’s the Jones cluster going?”

Russ sighed. “Hellish account. Between me and Danny we should have it in some semblance of order by tomorrow.”

“Good. Shoot me the details if you want me to look it over.”

Relief made his shoulders sag. “That would be great, Xavier.”

We talked about a few of the particulars on the way down. I gave him a salute as I headed for the parking lot while he turned into the mini cafe we’d built in the lobby of the building. I put the top down on my Porsche Boxter in deference to the sunny day. Hastings Investments was on the fringes of Crescent Cove, well away from the lake.

I let the longer drive blow out the last of my annoyances with my father. Once the scent of the lake hit my nose, I shrugged off the dutiful son persona and swapped to the less than traditionalmogul I was becoming. Lakeview Terrace would be a major boon to the town. Crescent Cove was growing every year—and not just because of the babies.

More and more companies were coming in, expanding the types of people who wanted to find a quiet space to live and work. Even our police force had doubled in reaction to our quick growth. Crime wasn’t a real problem, but with more people came more conflict.